


Sun is shining

by Aardvark



Category: ReLIFE (Webcomic)
Genre: F/M, I don't have a very clear plan, Romance, we'll see how it goes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-12
Updated: 2016-07-29
Packaged: 2018-07-23 15:25:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7468908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aardvark/pseuds/Aardvark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A tale of two teens, with massively different priorities, different backgrounds and attitudes. They could learn from one another or they could just straight out reject them. But they're not as different as they think. Robin is a 17 year old boy who due to some unfortunate events were sent to live with his aunt in Tokyo, the culture shock wasn't as great as one would think and Robin soon settled in amongst friends and family. Though he feels there's something... Missing? Rena Kariu is a try-hard at life, everything is a challenge and she's not one to take a step back. But with an challenger at every front, how could she manage to relax?</p><p>This series will focus on both characters issues mixed with some fluff and romance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> This is based in a world before Arata's appearance at Aoba High School, with some changes to the program. Let's say they're in grade 11, age 16. (One year before Arata) The first two chapters might lack direction a bit, but hang in there! It probably, might have the chance of turning out decent.

John Wayne airport in California's orange county has approximately 9,386,033 passengers every year, which means 25 715 people walk through here daily. Isn't that amazing? 25 715 people going somewhere, living their lives, doing their thing. I know what you're gonna say, "Don't people do that everywhere?", well technically yes, but it's in a whole other league at airports. People aren't going on auto pilot, just trying to get through the day, people are EXCITED, they're going somewhere, and there's this special vibe in the air so you can help but be pulled along. It's amazing. And while John wayne airport is a very fine airport it's not even in the top fifty of the busiest airports in the world, probably not even the top 100. Imagine that.

"Passport"  
"Check"  
"Snacks"  
"Check"  
"Luggage"  
"Now you're being ridiculous"

To some, the airport is a bit much excitement. Robin could hardly contain his smile, always the same story, no matter how many times they go through this. "Is that seriously all you're bringing?" The over-excited blonde asked as she eyed the red sportbag containing clothes and hygiene products for at least a week. "I like to travel light." He said half-jokingly. half reassuringly. While there was really no point to Lisa's worries, it wasn't as if Robin didn't understand. This would be the first time he travelled alone, surprisingly enough, to a completely new place no less. "Alright Lisa, I have to run. I'll call you when I get there, promise." They embraced in a short hug and the assistant said a few heartfelt words of farewell as Robin ran to his gate. It was all very emotional.

Well on the plane he quickly found his seat in the first class, fist bumping internally as he realised it was a window seat. The rest of the passengers found their seats one after one, this was probably the best test to see how seasoned someone was. There's a special order to doing things in just this situation; You put your big bag in the overhead compartment AND, this is the important part, you put your bag with the snacks, magazines, game or whatever under the seat in front of you, but you don't pack anything up just yet; The next step is to find your seat and sit your ass down, this one is of varying difficulties; And lastly you put your little seatbelt on, with hopes that it will actually help you if something, ANYTHING goes wrong. Pro tip: It won't. Of course, if you're an absolute pro veteran then this should be a breeze and you should already have fallen asleep with your headphones blasting. This is what Robin intended anyway, but things kept popping in to his mind which kept him awake, things he didn't want to think about.

It'd been raining on and off for that entire day, he had a small time football game. Nothing special really, but his team wasn't half bad and with Robin they pretty much dominated the entire west coast, and was preparing for national tournaments. Due to some unfortunate series of events Robin was standing in front of the goal, preparing a penalty kick. It was actually a pretty detrimental part of the game, last 15 minutes, 1-0, another goal would pretty much gurantee their win. Nervewracking, to be honest. But then it arrives, the moment before, the anticipation. You know? It's like mhmhm. With a smiling face he quickly took three long strides and kicked the ball, carefully placing it in the upper left corner with as much power as he dares. The goalkeeper jumps but misses, Robin breaks in to a sprint cheering but then a loud bounce is heard and the ball comes flying back. He missed. It pisses him off just thinking about it. The day didn't improve when the coach pulled him to the side either, telling him his dad was in an accident. Lisa, his father assistant, had rushed them both to the hospital but it was too late, and his father had passed away with excrutiating pains.

Now I'd like to say that Robin was _absolutely, positively heartbroken_ but for some reason, unknown to even himself, he didn't feel... Much at all actually. It was strange and curious at the same time. A couple of days before the funeral there'd been some sort of wake, it was held in the church and relatives he'd never heard about shook his hand and offered their condolonces. He smiled through it all, can you believe that? What kind of monster does that? To be honest, the fact that he wasn't as sad as he should be made him sad.

With that thought looming like a dark cloud Robin fell asleep, a dreamless, tiring sleep.

When he woke up another airport greeted him, and his good mood returned. A chaffeur held up a sign with his name on it and he cheerily made his way over, just one step away from whisteling a tune. "Mr Cheshire? Your aunt is waiting for you" The chaffeur said in broken english as he bowed. "Thank you, and I know a decent amount of japanese." He said in almost as broken japanese. The chaffeur held out his hand and took the red sportsbag before touring their way through the massive airport, stopping at and explaining everything worth stopping at and explaining.


	2. Long time no see

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin finds his new home.

The chaffeur drove a pitch black Hyundai Equus, what a stereotypical rich man's car, Robin thought as he sat down in the comfortable leather seat. His bags was taken care of by Mr. Takemura, as the chaffeur had introduced himself. "It should take about 45 minutes, sir." Robin nodded absentmindedly. "Your aunt is most pleased to get to see you again, she's very proud of you." He sent a sideways glance at the chaffeur, whose eyes were fixated on the road. He could barely make out a smile behind all the wrinkles, seems like Mr. Takemura is fond of his aunt. "I'm happy to see her as well, I just wished it was under better circumstances." He said, acting the mourner.

Robin watched the people flow by as they rolled through the nighttime city. Businessmen were tiredly going home after a long, hard day as well as coworkers loosening up at a after work and teenagers fulfilling their youths. While it'd be terribly racist to say they all looked the same, there was certainly a common theme amongst them. For example: The black hair, while the shades range from really dark brown to raven black, Robin's own light blonde hair stuck out like a sore thumb. Also, their build, why was everyone so short? Robin could swear that he was at least a head taller than everyone with his rather humble 179 cm. The clothes however, they ranged from suits to doll-like dresses and everything inbetween. Not exactly what you'd see on the streets of Rio de janeiro, which is his own fashion paradise with their shorts, tanktops and sunglasses. But more like the expressive New York, or London. Maybe generic hipster is the trend? These things are important to an ever-fitter-inner like Robin, but it didn't seem like he could correct himself all that much. Maybe tidy his hair up a bit.

"So, Mr. Takemura, what's the plan?" After 25 minutes of car riding the scenery started look rather monotone and Robin turned to poor Takemura for entertainment. "You will be attending one of the finest schools in the province. You will live in the guest room. Your fathers money will be kept in a bank until your 19th birthday." The chaffeur spoke in a monotone voice, not taking his eyes off the road. "I know all of that already, tell me something more exciting. What's the school like?" He responded, his tone somewhat whiney. "Aoba High School is an excellent institute to find and nurture your talents. Youths graduated have gone on to become world-class lawyers and surgeons. As well as leaders." For having such a broken accent he sure knows a lot of hard words. "So it's... For academics?" His face turned into a grimace, as if the word tasted disgusting. "Not exclusively. But as far as I've heard you're quite excel in both academics and sports, sir." Well, the pressure of living up to your family's standard and a childhood filled with freetime would do that to you. Also good genes played a part, you can't come from an excellent family and not be excellent, on a cellular level at least. "You flatterer you, it's not that I dislike academics. I was just imagining the kind of people that would go there." He scoffed. "Doesn't seem like my kind of crowd."

The Cheshire family is a relatively high class family from the countryside of england. They have a big mansion, couple of horses and dogs, pool and a small staff of servants. The masters of the family, Robin's grandparents, live there alone as their three children spread out all over the world. Robin's father, the eldest son, studied business management in Sweden and later had a job requiring him to go where he was needed. The middle son is off somewhere in the united states or like, dubai, spending all his parents money taking the odd model job, sometimes he shows up in a magazine or something but no one has seen him in person for years. The youngest, the before-mentioned aunt, studied in London where she met Akio Kinoshita, the heir of a similarily wealthy family. They married as soon as they graduated and after quite a bit of argument moved to Tokyo.

Around 35 minutes in business buildings and bright neon signs were replaced by apartment complexes and parks. Here the only light was from the odd window and late night convenience stores, there really was a sense of peace. Robin rolled down the window on his side, the air was fresh and chilly, and the quiet was calming. He suddenly got a feeling that this might turn out fine.

A train station seperated the apartment community and the suburbs. The houses weren't  _all that_ but then again, he was looking at them with a spoiled eye. They looked spacious mostly, with a healthy mix of traditional-style and modern look to them. A few had pools, some had fancy looking gardens but most just had neatly cut grass. "Here it is." Takemura said as he pulled in on a driveway. The house attached to the driveway was on the larger side compared to the surroundings, it had a classical western look to it. A sudden voice interrupted further inspection "Superstar! You're finally here!" The voice was full of cheer and it took no time to identify it, if nothing else there's only one that uses that silly nickname. "Aunt Sophie! Long time no see!" He cheered back to the head poking out an upstairs window. "Come in, come in! It's open!" She said before disappearing back behind the window, and Robin quickly obeyed. Seeing aunt Sophie, or anyone that cheery, instantly puts him in a good mood and he greeted her with a smile in the entrance hall. "It's been so long, too long as a matter of fact." She wrapped her arms around him. "Looking gorgeous as always I see, you really haven't aged a day." He observed. They have the same blonde hair and green eyes, Robin is naturally taller but only by a few centimeters. She had that same million-dollar smile, he thought as he thanked Takemura for the ride and took a seat by the dinner table as instructed. "It must run in the family. Just look at you!" Robin flashed a confident smile. "Haha, aren't you the heartbreaker." She laughed, he laughed. It all felt so natural with Sophie, much more so than anyone else in his family. "Thank you for taking me in, truly. I don't know what I'd do if it was  _anyone_ else."

Sophie prepared some english-style tea before sitting down. "Are you hungry? Tired? Can I get you something?" Robin shook his head no and proceeded to take a sip of tea. "So, I know you're tired but my husband thought it'd be best if we go through this at once." She was still smiling, but not in that bright, cheery way. "We do have a couple of rules; Weekday curfew at 19 and weekends at 21; If you have any friends coming over let me and Takemura know; You'll be expected to do housework here and there when asked." She looked up apologetically. "I argued for you, I promise! He wanted to have an curfew at 18 every day and allow no friends. I did my best!" She jokingly pleaded, clapping her hands together. Robin responded with a smile, shaking his head. "It's fine, I can do that." She laughed a bit but then turned serious all of a sudden. "We heard about your... Ehm... Problem. I sympathize with you Robin, I really do, but we can't have any of that here. That's the iron rule." He nodded, looking down. It's not really a problem at all, it's not like he's addicted or anything. He was caught once and now he's an addict of 45 years apparently.

"Ok, on to cheerier topics." Sophie's face lit up again. "I found this great school, like really. The school for the elites." She giggled and picked up the brochure that was laying on the table. "This is where I'll send my future kids, seriously." Opening the brochure, she started reading through it. It wasn't that long, but still mentioned the words 'excellence' and 'duty' at least 35 times. Fun. "I had to pull a lot of strings to get you transfered without a test. They think you're this genius gentleman that's gonna revolutionize how we all think about enviromental fuel. No pressure." She paused to take a sip of her tea. "No really, they have a football team that could use a star. They have excellent teachers to guide you on the right path. They have nice, ambitious, hard working students. I really believe that this is gonna be a good influence on you."


	3. Sleepless in Seattle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeskip! The cannon characters will be introduced next chapter! Exciting!

The weeks following Robin's arrival were mostly filled with studying and preparations. His unlce-in-law had found him an very capable japanese teacher who got him talking fluently and understand simple text in a month. As for preparations, well he was in a completely new place with new people and new expectations. He followed his aunt around on daily chores to get to know both the city and the house, which had two floors, five bedrooms, a fireplace, incredibly modern interior and a pool. Pretty fancy. In the city he knew a convenience store, the bank, the closest hospital, the trainstaion and the way he has to take to school. He was also introduced, through his very kind aunt, to a kid from his soon-to-be school who, in turn, introduced him to his friendgang. They hung out a couple of times, they were all from different parts of the Tokyo and therefor went to different schools, the only ones going to his school was two elder guys. Finally, he got a new haircut, following all the rules and trends of the current Japan, shortening the sides and letting the middle be fairly long. The barber surely meant it to look nice and neat, Robin's lack of care made it look just as messy as before.

After living with the family for about a month a few things became clear to him: Akio, or Mr. Kinoshita, was very rarely home. He had a busy job which required him to take mini trips all over the country, whenever he was home he had to work late and the little freetime he had was spent with friends and sports. Sophie was bored, she apparently had a job for the first few years of living here, which she adored, but Mr. Kinoshita insisted she quit when they started trying for a baby. A baby never came and Sophie was left to entertain herself with whatever she could get her hands on.

Meeting Akio Kinoshita a few times left Robin puzzled, hearing what aunt Sophie had said about him, while nothing poor, gave him the impression that he was an controlling traditionalist who didn't say much and expected his wife to stay in the home and be ready whenever he "needed" her. The complete opposite of his sweet aunt, honestly. Meeting him didn't actually sway his judgement, he was like the typical glasses-wearing character with black hair you'd find in any high school anime. It seemed like the only reason he accepted Robin was so his wife would have someone to play with while he was away but when he was home her eyes should never leave him. Was Robin supposed to be like the wall between Sophie and future possible lovers? Nope, he did not want to go down that road. Their family issues had nothing to do with him really. The big question was why Aunt Sophie stayed, that was what left him puzzled, why he couldn't let it go. Why would she let herself be confined like this?

Robin layed in his queensized while pondering the last few weeks, unable to sleep. Was he nervous? After all, it was his first schoolday tomorrow, but he'd gone through this a hundred times already. Embarrassed by his youthful innocence, Robin covered his face in a pillow and fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone wondering, I'm loosely using Oliver Cheshire as a model, with a few alterations: http://ftape.com/media/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Oliver-Cheshire_Mens-Folio-Indonesia-04.jpg

"So, how are you gonna behave?"

"I'm gonna be the perfect gentleman, polite but not formal, open but not pushy, effortlessly funny."

"Good, and what aren't you gonna do?"

"I'm not gonna get in trouble with the teachers, I'm not gonna sass anyone, I'm not gonna mess up my Japanese and I'm not gonna go around breaking young girls hearts."

Robin was getting dressed up in his new uniform as Sophie, who had been giggeling like it was her first schoolday, quizzed him about Japanese school etiquette. The uniform was surprisingly fashionable, it consisted of a simple pair of black jeans, which was slightly too big around the waist so they hung lower on his hipbones, white dress shirt that he didn't tuck in, a basic black tie with a green pin and a cream-ish cardigan which he left open. He sneaked a peak in the full body mirror. His hair was specially styled by none other than his meddling aunt, and while it still looked messy, it looked planned messy. The barber cut the sides around 2 centimeters shorter than the middle, and sophie had lazily shaped it back in a sort of wave, letting a few strands fall back on his forehead, reaching to his eyebrows. This was truly a one time thing, tomorrow he'd go back to the messy beach style that had become his trademark. Robin gets a lot of compliments for his face, by people who ought to know. He has a rather mature face for his age, with a prominent jaw-and-cheekbone structure, cheeks maybe slightly on the hollow side leading down to a wide, sharp chin. His nose soft and just kind of fits in. Prominent, but not bushy, light brown eyebrows, perfectly highlightning his clear, green eyes that contains that spark, that look of being wide awake. He's built like an athlete, lean but with a substantial ribcage and wide shoulders, long limbs, not to any extremes of course. He's toned with a hint of a six pack, distinguishable pecs and decent arms and legs, but alas, he's still a high school boy and has some more growing to do. So with all things considered, he looks like an handsome bum.

While the fastest way to the school is by train, Robin had decided to go by bike at least during the spring and summer. He hates to admit it but he is a bit of an health buzz. But while you're swishing through pink flower petals, going past all sorts of people and feeling the fresh spring breeze it's difficult to imagine why anyone would choose  _not_ to go like this. Hair swaying in the wind and everything, he couldn't help but to smile the entire way. Well there he left his bike in the designated bike-parking area, and after a few seconds of hesitation, decided to follow the crowd. It lead him to a big board where he found his name and class, then continued on to a gym-like area where he was instructed to line up in the middle space that was dedicated on the second-years. What followed was a bunch of long, tedious speeches about the fire of youth which, ironically, made him feel twenty years older when they were finally done. They then sang a little tune before being sent off yet again, this time to find their homerooms. With some localization skills and some following the crowd skills, Robin found himself in front of a classroom with the sign 2-1, which with some prayer and a pinch of fairy dust, is the right room. But you thought the challenge ends there? Oh no, now comes the challenge of finding a suitable chair. With the determination of a hundred men Robin walked straight up the the one in the furthest corner, by the window, just to be told that there was a arrangement in place, at which point he sighed and found his actual seat. This was exhausting.

Robin's seat was second from the windowrow and the second closest to the front, what misfortune. He had hoped for one in the furthest back, on either side of the room, where his every move wouldn't be noticed. "My name is Okui Tokimasa, I will be your homeroom teacher this year." A strong voice rung out in the classroom, silencing all the chit-chat. The voice belonged to an elder man, maybe around 55 years, he had a face and voice that spoke of a harsh life. "When I stand here I will not accept any chatter, your eyes should be on me or your desk. I will not accept any backtalking, when I tell you to do something you will do it. And finally, I will not accept anyone to waste my time, you will not be late, you will not be unprepared. Is that understood?" The whole class answered with a unified 'hai!' to the military-like introduction, except Robin who weakly nodded, he still had much to learn about the Japanese social rules. "Good. Number 1, start introducing yourself and we'll go down the list." A boy stood up from the seat behind him. "I'm Yoake Ryo. I just transfered here so I'm not in any clubs, but I was in the baseball club at my last school. Please take care of me!" He introduced himself, basic and short but with some personal information. Nice! "My name is Honoka Tamarai. I was in class 1-3 and the volleyball club. I hope to go to nationals with my team!" The designated sporty girl? She didn't look very athletic though, just incredibly cute. A few bland introductions followed before an energetic voice spoke up, shocking Robin who had zoned out completely. "Oga Kazoumi here! part of the going home club and coming from class 1-2. Let's have an awesome year!" So, he's the designated pretty boy. Slim, bottle blonde and a winning smile. You got it Oga-kun! He thought, giving an internal thumbs up. "I'm Kariu Rena, I-" The girl fell in a coughing fit, she was sitting to the direct left of Robin and he instinctually moved to the right. "Sorry, I'm recovering from a cold. I'm Kariu Rena, I'm part of the volleyball club and was in class 1-2. Thank you." Eeh, so professional. He didn't know whether to be impressed or put-off.

Finally, after going through the entire list, that didn't seem to be in any particular order, it was Robin's turn to shine. He had been waiting for this moment. "Name's Robin Cheshire, I just moved to Japan a month ago. I used to play all kinds of sports, but mainly football and baseball. As you can see I speak decent Japanese, so don't be afraid to approach me." With a confident smile and tone he looked aroun the room, making sure to make a short eye contact with everyone.  _Nailed it_ he thought as he sat back down.

"Alright, now that that's done..." The old teacher had written something on the board, and was now handing out papers to send back. Huh? "The schedule is on the board, you have 30 minutes for each test. I want to see a pen, eraser and paper on your desk, nothing else." Huh?! He hadn't been informed of this, what kind of school has tests on the first freaking day? This was child abuse, surely!  _Alright, calm down_ he thought  _You're fine, you've studied way ahead._ He reached down to his brand new bag just to realise that it wasn't there..... IT WASN'T THERE! He'd left it at home, foolishly thinking  _'it's fine, you never do anything on the first day so it'd just be dead weight'_. Oh god, end the misery right now. "Stop squirming, transferstudent, focus on the paper." He suddenly became stiff as all hope to become the new coolkid left him. "Yes sir." He said, his voice hoarse with defeat. Okey, maybe he's being a bit overdramatic, but things seems so important when you're living them. Suddenly the girl next to him, Rena was it? Held her hand out to him while still looking focused on her own paper. A love confession so soon? His mouth slackened in confusion, before he realised that she held an eraser and a pen in it. A warm feeling appeared in his stomach as he took the work materials. "Thanks"

The last bell rang and Robin dropped his pen on queue, stretching his arms and back. In the end it didn't really matter if he had a pen or not as most of the question written in japanese went right over his head. He nailed the english test and didn't feel like an total idiot during the math, but after that it all just went downhill. He turned to Rena next to him with a smile "Oi, Rena? Thanks for letting me borrow your things." He said and returned said supplies, Rena answered with a simple nod as she packed her bag. "Ah, sorry. Rena-san? Rena-chan?" While Robin pondered over the proper manners, the frown on Rena's face grew. "Just stop talking, Kariu-san is what a normal person would say, I don't really care though." Thinking about it for a second, Robin then responded with "Alright, got it, Rena." A big smile plastered on his face. The girl quickly turned to face him, her brown hair swaying with the motion. "Huh?! Are you an idiot?" Her cheeks were covered in just a hint of red, either from anger or embarrassment. Names really were a big deal for japanese, huh, Sophie had warned him about this but he felt that he wanted to try it out himself. Plus it's so much easier without all the rules. "Well you said that you didn't care. Anyway, want me to buy you a drink? As a thanks." The brown-haired girl was just about to answer as a mixed boy and girl gang of five walked up to his desk. "Hey transferstudent, Cheshire...Kun was it?" The girls were giggeling behind the guy who had called out to him. "Mm. Just Robin's fine, Takeshita-kun." This was the required check of strength, huh? The moment that decides if he'll be a bullied outcast or one of the cool kids? Probably not, but it's more exciting to think about it that way. "So, Robin-kun, where are you from?" One of the girls said, her voice small and shy. He got a feeling that she was just acting coy, but he played along. "Before this I lived in California, my dad moves a lot with his work so I've been a bit all over the place." He laughed accordingly with the others while they continued to probe him for information. "So you came here with your father?" The other girl asked. "Sure." Robin replied, they made a few jokes about wanting to travel and politely laughed, they seemed alright. "Well, if you need anything just come straight to us, we'll show you the ropes." Wow, so cool, so reliable. Takeshita was a rolemodel indeed.

The friendgang left and Robin turned to continue his previous conversation only to find that she'd already left. She didn't get far though as Robin spotted her on the other side of the room with that Oga, they were being energetic and looking like they were having fun. Well, Oga-kun did at least, Rena looked mostly angry. Considering that he didn't  _really_ care all that much about thanking her right this second, he decided that it would be best put to rest for another day. But just as he was about to walk out the room a lively voice called out to him. "Mr. Transferstudent! You're not going home already are you?" Pretty-boy Oga was waving his hand towards him, urging him to come over. Robin hesitated for a second, looking around the room, before obeying. "Nah, I just thought I'd go see a couple of Senpais I know." His tone was laid-back, empathising the point that they weren't bothering him. "What's up?" He asked, like the true american he'd gotten to be during the past couple of months he spent in Cali. "Kariu-san says you owe her a drink, is that true?" With a playful smile and a joking voice, Oga interrogated him. "Ah, well, I can't deny it." He responded with an equally playful smile "What about it? The coupon is one-time, Rena-limited. Sorry Brah." Oga giggled. "How about we go to saizeriya? Get some culture in you?"


	5. Chapter 5

And so it was that Oga, Rena, Robin and two others went to a family restaurant called Sei... Sei- Seiziraya? Something like that. Apparently it was a bit of a big thing and they went there after every big event. The two randoms that accompanied them was friends from their previous class, but had now been put somewhere else.

"So is this, what? The Mcdonalds of Japan?" Oga shook his head, "Mcdonalds is the Mcdonalds of Japan. This is the place for drinks and celebrations!" He said in his cheery voice, Robin had  _almost_ gotten used to it at this point.

Just as they walked through the doors to the cozy restaurant a waitress appeared, directed them to a table and took their orders. As recommended by the she-random he ordered a strawberry milkshake, he  ** _loved_** strawberry. "So, where are you from, Robin-kun?" The he-random asked out of the blue, just as they were chit-chatting about the weather. "Ah, well my father's job required him to move around a lot so I'm from everywhere, sorta. I was born in Italy though, but my father is english and my mother is swedish." For some reason that question was always so hard to answer, not only because he's not  _really_ from anywhere, though that is a big part of it, he couldn't pin down the other part, it just didn't feel right. "Are you gonna join any clubs? I'm in the baseball club, myself." Robin thought about it for a second, "I was thinking soccer, but baseball sounds good too. I know Shi- I mean Matsuoka-senpai there." The guy looked at Robin, his jaw slack in surprise. "Really?! Matsuoka Shijo-Senpai?" Robin nodded, "That guy only practices with the best Senpais during lunch! He never even stops by to watch our practice but he still remains our ace!" He started blurting out all the supposedly amazing things Shijo had done, apparently he was a bit of a big-shot. And a bit of a diva. "Oh really? I've practiced with him a bit, but I didn't realise he was that good." The she-random giggled. "He's not that good, it's just in comparison to the rest of our team." Oh, that makes sense. "Seems like they need another star then." He said, a big, confident smile plastered on his face.

The drinks were served and the conversation flowing, Robin was mostly silent but smiling and nodding along, poking in a few words here and there. Open but not pushy. After a while of talking and a series of awkward events it became pretty clear to him that Rena was totally in to Oga. How very stereotypical of her. As a teenage boy should, Robin gets interested very quickly in pretty girls, but he also loses that interest just as quick. So as it'd be a lie to say that he wasn't a bit disappointed, he got over it.

"What about it Robin-kun? Did you have a girlfriend?" Oh right, that's what they were talking about- He'd zoned out for a second. "Yeah, I had a couple. Had to break up when I left though." Before he'd even finished his sentence the stares of the wide-eyed people around him burned. "A couple?" One gathered up the courage to say. "Mhm. " He said as he realised what they'd freaked out about, and decided to have some fun. "Well I had me a girl, turned her into a woman. I showed her all the things that she didn't understand and then I let her go." Japanese people don't know Elle King, right? Well, it wasn't too far from what really happened anyway. "Haha, and there's this one in UK who's been cursing my name 'cause I found a better lover in the states. Until I made my getaway of course." The faces of the innocent youths were absolutley priceless, he just barely kept himself from cracking up. "I had a summer lover down in New Orleans, kept her warm through the winter and left her frozen in the spring. My, how the seasons go by." This was actually a challenge, his Japanese-skills barely covered it. "I get high and I love to get low, so the hearts keep breaking and the heads just roll. You know, that's how the story goes." Was the last part a bit over the line? Too late now. "But... How did you keep all of them?" Oga looked like he'd, ironically enough, seen a ghost. He wasn't very experienced in matters of the heart? That's surprising. "Haha, 'cause I'm the best baby they never got to keep." The she-random didn't look very impressed thought, for the record Rena looked mostly disgusted, but the she-random piped up. "You're cute and handsome and all, but I can't imagine you as a ladies' man." Robin giggled for a bit before lowering his pitch one or two snaps and leaning in closer. "When you came in the air went out, and every shadow filled up with doubt. I don't know who you think you are but before the night is through... I wanna do bad things with you." He smiled, but not the cutesly confident one that's his go-to, a much darker, provocative, flirtartious smile, and he gazed at her face, inspecting her every feature before moving to her neck, collarbone and lower. "I'm the kind to sit up in his room." His brow furrowed a his gaze down to the table, to a salt shaker on his right. His posture stayed the same though: He was acting coy. "Heartsick an' eyes filled up with blues. I don't know what you've done to me but I know this much is true." He looked back into her eyes. "I wanna do bad things with you." The table was quiet for a couple of moments, then Oga and the randoms burst out in applause, and Robin took his bows. That's enough of the song-lyrics.

A couple of jokes, a few laughs and a phonecall from a concerned parent later everyone went on their way to their respective homes. Oga and the he-random didn't live too far away, the she-random's older brother picked her up on a vespa, Robin had to go all the way to the station, leaving his bike at school overnight. As fate happened, he wasn't alone. "So where do you live, Rena?" She were walking quickly, and he had to struggle to stay besides here, she didn't look bothered at all though. "In the large complexes, two stations away." Did she mean the apartments just on the other side of the train station? Where his aunt lives? "Oh what a coincidence, I live in that area too." Somehow, against all of his vain nature, he got the feeling she didn't like him very much. After one day, isn't that a bit quick? "Hey, slow down." He reached out for her shoulder, which shook a bit in surprise, but then she slowed down. "Ah sorry" She said, "I zoned out for a second." It didn't seem she'd zoned in though, with eyes hazedly searching for something in the distance and now walking at a snailish pace, she very much looked like she was still out of it. "Thinking about your lover Oga-kun, are we?" With those simple words she snapped right up, her cheeks flushed red and an expression that started in confusion but evolved in to passionate rage. It was kind of cute, actually. "What are you saying, idiot? There's no way I-" A teasing smile and playful look from Robin's way and she realised that all denial was pointless. "You really are an idiot, aren't you?" She whispered. Way to take a stand, Rena-chan!

Now with all that compulsory tsundere stuff out of the way, it was question time. "So... Well I can't come up with anything but why?" A giggle accompanied the words, probably angering the hot-headed girl more than anything else he could have said. "Do we really have to talk about this?" He responded with a nod and Rena, in turn, sighed. "We were class reps together, he's funny, he's smart and he's nice." Either she was contemplating what shoes she was gonna wear tomorrow, or talking about this made her really emberrassed. Damn, that's cute. "You left out: Incredibly handsome and as innocent as a kitten." He held up a finger for every reason and inspected his hand as if it were written on them. "Hate to break it to you but these are really boring. You'll never work out." She turned to look at him. "What? What more do you need?" Oh so sweet, so innocent. "Excitement for one. Yeah sure, the first love is always full of excitement. But what about when all that fades? You're gonna get bored to death." Cynical, perhaps, but in his world true. "We've known each other for about five minutes now, and this is a bit of a stretch, but I think you need more than you think you need." For a change he wasn't smiling, he was looking up in to the night sky. An incredibly lame, but calming habit of his. "Yup, that is a stretch. I know I say it too much but you actually are an idiot." Her face was turned away from him, so even when he threw a glance down at her he could only guess her expression.

The rest of the walk to the station was mostly spent in silence, as well as the train ride. A few comments from Robins way as he discovered the city but nothing he expected a reply to. Honestly, it was nice to silently walk through the night-time.


	6. Chapter 6

"Oy, wake up." The image was blurry, but the voice rang out like any 50 buck alarm clock. Robin was able to make out a slim silhouette with a blonde mess on top through the morning haze, must be his favourite aunt who somehow managed to get out of bed before 10 to wake him up. Brings a tear to his eye. "I'm here, I'm here." He took a second to stretch his back and limbs before sitting up, rubbing the sleepiness out of his eyes. "So, any excuse, and I mean any at all, as to why you were out after curfew on your very first day?" She didn't sound or look mad, no matter how much she tried with her crossed arms and motherly eyes, she probably was just curious if he'd found any friends. "Some kids invited me to get a drink, I was gonna come home in time but I got lost on the way from the station." A half lie, he'd been out with people, he did get lost but he wasn't gonna come home in time no matter how he tried. Since it was late and dark he accompanied Rena in to the maze of complexes, she didn't let him do it just because though so he feigned living in the same area. After they parted he wandered around for a bit, trying to find his way back home, where he stumbled upon no other than Shijo-senpai, sharing a couple of beers with older-looking boys and girls, maybe 20-25? You can imagine the kind, baggy clothes sharing alcohol with underage. Shijo had called out to him and Robin responded, greeting them and drinking exactly two beers before one of the trash gave him a ride home on an surprisingly flashy motorcycle. So, all in all, quite eventful for a first day.

Sophie went back to bed, not entirely convinced by the vague explenation, but her sleepiness won over the curiousity. Robin continued on with his morning, like he had done at every place, every weekday and at the same time for the last few years. The routine went like so: He'd wake up at 5:30, go for a 40 minute jog, shower for 15 minutes then whip himself a nice breakfast. Just kidding, Robin's mornings were the defintition of chaos: He wakes up at 5:30, takes a nice, long, hot shower of about 30 minutes while manages to do the least amount of socially accepted hygiene in about 10 minutes as he keeps spacing out when brushing his teeth. Getting dressed can take everything for 3 minutes to 35 depending on how many times he manages to fall asleep randomly inbetween actions. In the end he doesn't have time to make breakfast and has to run to even have a chance to catch the train.

Well at school he basically crumble down at his desk, slaming his forehead against the chilly wood while sighing heavily. Life is hard when you have literally not oganization ability and very little willpower to continue your everyday life. "Night out with friends a bit much for you?" For a second his blood turned to ice, before he realised that the pretty brunette next to him meant the Oga and the random-gang, not Shijo and the trash. "No, I was just up all night dreaming of you." His playful tone was met with silence, and he didn't look up to see the expression on the girls face. Was it cruel to play with the emotions of such an innocent girl? Probably, didn't make it any less fun though. Damn, he's basically Britney Spears.

A few minutes later the previous mentioned what's-his-face-Sensei walked in to the room, seemingly bringing an aura of stiff silence. He began talking about the tests, congratulating the highest scorers (Oga and Rena, ha) who was apparently assigned the duty of being class reps together. Go Rena! "Hey, I had no idea you were smart. Why didn't you tell me?" He whispered over as she sat down after the applause, she totally ignored him, but he just giggled. "Remember, anyone who failed a test will be taking retests for every week until you pass." That's just.... That's just horrible. A hole of death. As mentioned, Robin was fairly good in school, he passed the english and math tests with flying colours, Japanese and other written subjects: Not so much. So when the teacher announced that he'd have to take the retests until succeeded it felt like the old, grey eyes stared in to his own. Spooky. Anyway, classes and such continued on, he was introduced to the teachers for the year. They seemed quite nice, no one stood out as much as Mr. Military man they had for homeroom though, who earned his nickname more and more everytime he opened his mouth. Someone somewhere in the schedule announced that tomorrow was the day for physical assessment and also the day when the clubs officially started for the season, as well as the recruiting.

Halfway through the day and a familiar growl roared in everyones stomach, calling the alarm for lunchtime. While not being confident in her cooking, his kind aunt donated 1000 yen to the cause and told him the cafeteria was first class. "Ooooga-Kuuuuuun." He called out, "Oga-Kun be a bro." He pleaded, "Oga-Kun, show me to the cafeteria." He commanded. Finally the bottle-blonde caved and lead the way. "I recommend the spicy chicken curry." He said, "I hear the ramen's really good too." And so they sat down, one with his cutesly made bento and the other with a bowl of ramen. "Your mom makes you lunch?" The words were barely comprehensible as they were spoken between slurps. "No, I make my own, why?" Oga's normally handsome face were twisted in a questionmark. "Really? It's just... Nevermind. That's pretty cool. I can't cook for shit." SIlence followed as the two boy slurped down their lunch. Rena and her friend... What was it? Athletic-chan? Were looking for a table, it seemed they spotted each other at the same time and Oga waved them over, "Kariu-San, here!" Robin's back was turned to them as they walked over due to seating placements, but he turned over his shoulder to look a the pair, due to politeness of course and not to get a peak at Athletic-chan's well endowed rack. But for some reason the unexplainable look of surprise on his seat-neighbour's face caught his attention, and he sullenly asked "What?" When noticing that she looked at him. "Oh, sorry, I just didn't recognize you." She explained in a hurry, catching herself staring. "We've been sitting next to each other for the past, what is it? 4? Hours." He said with a haughty grin covering his face. Was this girl for real? "Why would I look at you during class?" Hm, why wouldn't she? Isn't that what you do with a gorgeous neighbour? He looked at her all the time. "So, what's so different? The hair?" As previously mentioned: Robin doesn't style his hair, he let Sophie do it for the first day but usually it just takes too long and is too tedious. He does the best he can with a cut and then leaves it, maybe combs it if necessary. But for some strange reason this new haircut really does a good job of looking styled by itself, the entirety of it's body (the long hairs) wave towards the right and down over his forehead, causing the left side to look slicked back and bangs covering his brow on the right. It looked good, in his own well-informed opinion, but not such a game changer to warrant such a reaction. Did she just not remember how he looked? "You changed your hair? Sorry but we're looking for someone, another day?" She turned to Oga with an apologetic look and he just smiled, she blushed and ran off. This girl... "You get along with people really quick, huh?" Oga said, a look of... Jealousy? On his face. Shouldn't this guy be the cutiepie of the school? "I make a lot of acquaintances, I guess. You'd know better than me." Robin is by all means social, but he's not everyone's type as well as everyone is not his. "Mhm, you called Kariu-San by her first name since your first meeting. Also Matsouko-Senpai and Tae-Chan." Oh, he's so innocently cute. "First names don't really mean anything where I'm from, to me it's weird to not call someone by their name. Also I only call Rena, Rena because she basically dared me to. Why? You like her?" He said jokingly, but he had been wondering about her chances. "Oh? No, no. There's.... There's someone else that I like." Oga's handsome face were beet-red as he blurted out the words, almost like he was confessing on the spot. "Hmm, I see."

While what Oga said wasn't completely wrong, he did call people by their given names, Robin wasn't  _friends_ with anyone. Which by all means were natural given the time he'd known these people. But he wasn't referring  _these_ people, it was  _all_ the people. All the people in the schools he's beeen attending for the last 8 years- He stopped himself there. This wasn't the time nor place for this. He pushed it all back in to that dirty, dark basement he rarely goes and hid the key from himself. Wow, is this what it's like to be triggered? By such a simple question, no less.

End of the final hour and everyone prepared to go somewhere, whether clubs or home. Speaking of clubs, weren't they starting tomorrow? There ambitious youths, man. Robin saluted internally as he walked past the football field full of cheering boys, as well as the baseball field, seemed like girls and boys practiced togheter. He himself simply biked to a store close by where he checked off items on a list before biking home. The evening was spent in front of the computer playing Overwatch and music in his headphones, only taking breaks for bathroom and dinner. Youthful exuberance in all glory, this wasn't too bad either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having a bit of trouble settling for a pace. Maybe I'll do a slight timeskip soon, or just forget about the "moving too quick"-thing. Theyr'e kids after all, so many hormones, so little time.


	7. Chapter 7

As promised the next day were devoted to diverse physical tests, from health to general fitness. As it turned out Robin was a perfectly healthy boy who could throw a ball slightly further than the average 16-17 year old and run considerably faster than the average, but much slower than the prodigies. As it should be, he thought as he took a sip from his water bottle. Oga laid beat beside him, seems like the bottle-blonde only exists from the neck up. Busty athletic girl was the hotshot of today, surprisingly, she beat the "above-average" average by a long shot in every test, there were also word of some in-school records. Impressive, truly. Not the fact that she ran a bit faster than the others or threw a ball further but that she managed to try so very hard in every test, Robin himself gave up halfway through the second one, but suppose that's just how it is with talents- They don't  _have_ to try. Or is that a very marginalizing? On the other side a random black-haired girl struggled, no that's not the right word, she were elegant as few but somehow looks betrayed and she were just doing it... Poorly. She'd caught his eye earlier in the day when they were throwing that freaking ball, she was definitely pretty but in that nerdy way, the kind that most of his teenage equivalents wouldn't notice. Anyway, she'd confidently walked up on the designated spot, picked up the ball, prepared with the same monotone expression and then thrown it. The ball barely flew 4 meters and after a few seconds of shock the natural-blonde burst out laughing. He was the only one. It was a bit too awkward even for him so at the end of the boy's third event, which was sprinting, he'd gotten around to apologizing which she stiffly accepted. Through some a series of unforseen and honestly strange events the girl, Chizuru Hishiro, had joined the group as they were watching the girls run, or well... Chizuru Hishiro had this blank, dead-fish look in her eyes so she was probably off to dreamy land, Oga were basically dead and Robin were more interested in the girls than the times. he did perk his ears though when his desk-neighbour lined up, she had a bit of an athletic look to her, but maybe she's just naturally skinny? The bell went off and Rena quickly got ahead of her group, by a lot actually, and she finished with a time well above average and well below prodigees. Was this the beginning of a rivalry? You could really tell that the girl had tried hard though, from the way she fell on her knees in the end and from her reaction to her time you could see she wanted more. Robin was honestly a bit envyous of that: The will to be better.

Weeks passed and life, much to his dismay, settled down in a state of normality. He hung out with Oga during school breaks while establishing a contact-network through the school. He joined the football club after a bit back and forward, but considering his personality this was really the only choice. He had a real talent for football and became a regular after the first drawing. At home he'd somehow gotten the master of the house, Akio Kinoshita, to not only accept him but  _like_ him. They bonded during a night in the park playing sports and after that it's only gone up, it seemed like Akio was developing some fatherly feelings. Still didn't say much though. Shijo-Senpai and the trash met up several nights a week it seemed, drinking, smoking and generally living it up. Robin joined them up to 3 days a week, drawn in by the booze and motorcycles. Everything was really downkey though, as Shijo-Senpai had just as much, if not more, to lose on being caught. Aunt Sophie did throw him a glance or two the mornings after, did she know? Who knows.

But there was one thing, one speck of light, by the name of Rena Kariu. Now, Rena had interested him somewhat from the first day but that was mostly because she was a pretty face acting hard to get. These past weeks they didn't really have much to do with each other, Rena kept lending out pencils and erasers when her neighbour was in need, never asking for a thanks and even disguising it as for her own benefit. Aside from that they've kept a distance, Robin didn't really understand why but he didn't really ponder on it either. No, definitely! He didn't! But since they were in the same class and in close vicinity he had noted a couple of things: Rena was a terribly honest and dishonest girl, she definitely had social graces but were way too hot-headed, everything she felt could easily be readen on her face. Well, everything on a vain level. For example, the obvious one, Oga, whenever he does... Anything that should make her happy, whether it'd be in class rep work or socializing, she gets flushed and annoyed. Not at oga himself though, more like at herself? Like she can't deal with why she gets happy and therefore becomes irritaded at herself instead, a very vain irritation but oh so important in the Oga universe. He's too dense to think deeper than ' _she's mad'_ and that's why it wouldn't work. A girl that's so dishonest with herself can't be with someone who can't even begin to imagine why she'd be angry. Not to say they he himself would be very good in that department though. Note 2: She was kind, not to the stupid degree, but about things that doesn't really matter. For example: He had lost five of her pen's at this point and she still kept lending them out. He should probably pay her back for that... Note 3: She's talented, sure she doesn't have the physical prowess of Busty athletic-chan but she's definitely better than most, and she beat Busty athletic-chan in classes any day. As a matter of fact, Robin was taking the re-tests with her. And lastly: She tries very hard; she's the top 10 in the grade on practically every test they are given AND she somehow manages to excersise and keep up with the volleyball team, enough to be the vice-captain. it's amazing, truly. Robin avoided having to study every chance he got and the only running he did was at football practice.

It irritaded him to no bounds. It was like that blinking, small light in an otherwise pitch black room. You're just trying to fall asleep and then  _that's_ there keeping you awake. And still, somehow, he was drawn to it. He was both the kid just wanting to fall sleep and the moth drawn to the only thing that wasn't the same. It irritaded him, he hated it. Why did it come to this? Just because she likes Oga, and not him? Because she's new and exciting? Is that why he turned in to a pining, drooling idiot? Robin has had girls before, more and less seriously, but nothing like  _this_.  _This_ wasn't fun, it was burning and he felt like the only one that could ease the pain was her. Jesus christ.


	8. Chapter 8

Due to the previously mentioned source of irritation and a generally bad attitude towards any authority figure he deems unfair, Robin got in to an argument with the Military-Sensei. I guess you could say they argued about artistic differences, he considered himself more interesting than Timeflies and Jay-Z, Robin considered this to be a good day to question this rule. In the end the revolution fell and the leader sentenced to detention for one month. Ironically enough, he spent the time listening to all kinds of artists, drumming the desk and once in a while writing some numbers or letters down on the sheet before him. The music kept him entertained for quite a while and a break from the football practice was welcomed, so all in all it wasn't too bad. Though getting in detention two months after you transferred in isn't the dream scenario.

After about 1 hour and 45 minutes of what he thought would be a nice relaxing break from everything turned out to actually be, well... Detention. Frustration and boredom grew in synergy and all the excess energy pent up from sitting down all day was getting to him, making him tap his feet in the floors and intensifying the drumming on the table. Like all sense of composure he once had was blown out of the window. Who picks a fight with the military-fetish teacher anyway? Stupid, stupid. The sound of the classroom-door opening behind him interrupted his line of thought and he turned to look at the disturber. Suprisingly and not at all surprising enough, Miss Kariu Rena stood in the opening. looking a bit lost. "What's up?" Wearing an crooked smile, Robin broke the silence. "Ah, I just forgot my bag." It looked like he'd woken her up from something of a day dream, does all girls go off into fantasy world this often? "Something the matter?" He said that, but he knew. "Did you hear about it? Oga's girlfriend-to-be?" It was him who introduced them, after all, she didn't have to know that thought. "Mm." Teenage drama isn't easy, is it? But for all the sympathy he felt, the fury of having  _his_ girl getting upset at someone else's expense was overwhelming. A flash of anger flickered in his eyes before he caught himself 'Jesus christ, did I really just think that?' He shook his head, ridding himself of the thought. "Wanna sit down for a sec?"

This girl, this flashing light, kept testing his patience day after day. Not on purpose, of course, but everything from the simple fact of liking  _Oga_ to being completely, breathtakingly, stunning in every move she made. No matter, Robin  _always_ got what he wanted. His green eyes followed the movement of the girl as she sat down, they had that sort of enigmatic look in them, the kind a cat has when on the prowl. "Well, you don't really have anyone else to blame." He formed a smile that perfectly matched his gaze. "After all, you had your chance. You knew he was an idiot, yet you didn't say anything." This was terribly manipulative of him, but seeing her head and shoulders sink as she mumbled "I know." Almost made him purr. But that was enough pressuring for now, and Robin had an idea. He took the earphone hanging freely and gave it to the girl, "Here, put it in." She quietly obeyed and Robin put the other on, cycling his playlist for the song he had in mind. He found it and put it on, "I don't know how good your English is, but all the girls I've known listens to this after a rough period with their boyfriend." It took a couple of seconds before a soft voice was heard, Emilia singing Big Big World. Robin leaned on the back of his chair and stared at the ceiling before closing his eyes, mumbling the lyrics with the singer. "I'm a big, big girl in a big big world it's not a big big thing if you leave me but I do, do feel that I do do will miss you much." Robin was a sucker for a nice voice, and this mix of softness and sadness sent shivers down his spine. They sat there for nearly twenty minutes, he switched between the songs methodically, gradually raising the girl's spirits.

Robin was by no means in love with the girl, but she was a point of annoyance and interest. In fact, the only reason he'd been interested in her in the first place is probably because she wasn't interested in him. And how could such a girl be left alone? He wanted her, the entirety of her, but he didn't want to return the favor.

In true gentlemanly spirit Robin decided to walk the girl to the station at the very least, they stopped by to pick up his bike before they went on their way. He was walking maybe three steps behind Rena, who was in a marginally more energetic mood, he watched her slender back, her feminine neck that was hinted behind her light brown hair, her long legs and  _that ass._ Quite a sight, to say the least. "So you like nice guys, huh." With an half-fazed expression, Robin broke the long silence. "Hm? What?" She answered him by turning around with an puzzled look, maybe the unexpected switch from his usual boasting self caught her off guard? "Unfortunately, 'nice' isn't my forte." She'd stopped at this point, Robin following suit. The city was darkening and the only real light were coming from the sunset, with only a few stray city-lights helping to illuminate the youths so the girl couldn't quite make out the nature of the boy's smile. "But for now, until you can find someone 'nice', why don't you stick with me?" He parked his bike as he talked. He'd done this probably tens of times before, to different girls all over the world, but somehow he couldn't quite catch the right words to say. "I'm like James Dean, for sure. I'm fresh to death and sick as cancer." No, Rena wasn't the kind to care about such a petty thing. That thought softened up his smile and mind slightly, but still, he was greedy. "Also, honey, you've got a great ass." He chuckled a bit as he grabbed the stunned girl's collar, pulling her onto him and sealing his lips over hers, his other hand found and rested on her waist. The kiss was greedy but controlled enough to be kept tongue free, his eyes were closed so unfortunately he didn't get a glimpse of her expression.

 


End file.
